BlackRock moves to add staked Ethereum ETF with fresh SEC filing

XRP price is up 3% in the past 24 hours and 15.5% from its Nov. 21 low to $2.10 on Monday. This sets it up for further gains backed by several fundamental, onchain and technical factors.

Key takeaways:

• XRP’s new all-time highs are in play, backed by increasing institutional demand and bullish trader sentiment.

• XRP price technicals, namely the symmetrical triangle, project a 27% rise to $2.65.

Investors pour into XRP investment products

Institutional demand for XRP investment products has not waned, according to data from CoinShares.

Related: XRP sentiment plummets, which could set token up for rally: Santiment

XRP exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted inflows totaling $245 million in the week ending Dec. 5, “bringing year-to-date inflows to US$3.1bn, far eclipsing the US$608m inflows seen in 2024,” CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said in its latest Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report, adding:

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, is entering one of its most interesting phases in months. In just a few hours, big institutions moved 9,000 ETH off exchanges, major whales opened large long positions, and exchange supply dropped to new lows. 

Many now wonder, is Ethereum preparing for its next big rally?

Institutions Pull 9,000 ETH in Few Hours

According to Arkham Intelligence, institutions removed a significant amount of Ethereum from exchanges. Two major players, Amber Group and Metalapha, withdrew 9,000 ETH worth over $28 million from the Binance exchange in the past few hours.

This isn’t a one-day event. Over the last five months, institutions have accumulated nearly 4 million ETH, a level of inflow that usually appears before major market shifts

Meanwhile, these are not short-term trades. These are the kind of withdrawals institutions make when preparing for custody, long-term positioning, or deploying capital for the next big cycle.

Ethereum Sees Silent Whale Accumulation

Along with institutional withdrawals, several big wallets opened large long positions on Ethereum. Wallets like 1011short and Anti-CZ together added around $426M in leveraged ETH longs. 

Ethereum Exchange Balances Hit Low

On-chain data shows Ethereum’s available supply is shrinking fast. Only 8.7% of ETH now sits on exchanges, while more than 28 million ETH is locked in staking, custody, and long-term storage. Daily staking inflows stay strong, with over 40,000 ETH added each day.

This steady supply drop lowers selling pressure and helps create a stronger base for Ethereum’s next major move, even as the price trades around $3,040.

Ethereum Price Outlook: Key Levels to Watch

Following this accumulation, Ethereum has posted a 3% gain over the last 24 hours and is now holding the $3,100 support level strongly.

According to analyst Ted Pillows’ chart, ETH is trading inside a tight range between $3,050 and $3,200, awaiting confirmation.

If ETH breaks above the crucial $3,300–$3,400 resistance, it could rally toward the $3,700 to $3,800 zone.

The Quantum panic made another round this week as a "doomsday clock" claims that Bitcoin keys could be cracked by 2028. Samson Mow, known for his bold $1 million BTC call, shut down the panic in a recent interview, saying people keep stressing over the wrong things, and Bitcoin is not one of them.

Mow maintains the same argument in every conversation: if a quantum system ever becomes strong enough to break elliptic curve cryptography, it will target the traditional banking system first. Banks still use weaker encryption and lack a viable upgrade path.

What Mow stresses is that the market does not need to worry about Tether's reserves when your local bank uses a fractional model that would collapse under minimal pressure or worry about what price Strategy might sell Bitcoin at when most equities lose 10% a year on decaying cash positions. Quantum Doomsday Clock">

Do not worry about quantum computers "killing Bitcoin" when the real nightmare scenario is that military infrastructure will be cracked long before anyone touches a blockchain, says the Bitcoin entrepreneur.

No doomsday for Bitcoin, but there's a catch

Quantum systems would require thousands of logical qubits and millions of physical ones, as well as error rates far below what is currently available. Even under favorable assumptions, the runtime problem remains significant. P2PKH users would still have enough time to move coins before anyone tries to access them.

The bottom line of Samson Mow's thesis is straightforward: Bitcoin is not the weak point in a quantum world, as everything else breaks first.

Dogecoin cofounder Billy Markus, who goes by the alias "Shibetoshi Nakamoto" on X, says that the most interesting thing about cryptocurrency is not the tech, the price or even the utility but rather what it reveals about human psychology.

Psychology in literal terms means the mental characteristics or attitude of a person or group and the study of the mind and behavior.

According to the Dogecoin cofounder, an interesting part about cryptocurrencies is what it reveals about one's mental attitude and behavior.

This brings to mind the crucial role sentiment plays in the cryptocurrency market, influencing price movements and volatility, and sometimes overshadowing traditional fundamental or technical factors in the short term.

Dogecoin marks 12 years

The insight from the Dogecoin cofounder comes just days after Dogecoin celebrated its 12th anniversary, having launched on Dec. 6, 2013.

Markus shares truths about the crypto market in a witty, humorous character, aligning with Dogecoin's positioning as a fun cryptocurrency.

In a tweet where he celebrated Dogecoin's 12 anniversary, Markus wrote: "12 years ago i made something stupid and then a bunch of even stupider stuff happened and now i am posting about it on the internet to 2.15 million followers. happy 12th genesis day, dogecoin."

Originally created as a joke, Dogecoin currently ranks as the ninth largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, trading at $0.142 at press time.

The majority of cryptocurrencies are trading in the green on Monday as the market anticipated a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut on Wednesday, with the probability of a 25-basis-point cut standing at around 87%, according to CME data.

Despite crypto market gains, sentiment remains cautious, with the potential for further declines in the absence of fresh catalysts and liquidity.

Ondo Finance said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed a confidential, multi-year investigation into the company without filing charges, marking what it described as a "major step forward for tokenized securities in the United States."

The probe, initiated under the Biden administration during a period of heightened digital asset scrutiny, examined whether Ondo's tokenization of real-world assets complied with federal securities laws, and whether the native ONDO token itself should be treated as a security.

According to a blog post from Ondo on Monday, the company fully cooperated and maintained throughout the inquiry that its approach to tokenization aligns with investor protection principles. The firm said the formal SEC notice represents a "meaningful milestone not just for Ondo, but for the broader tokenization industry."

The investigation began in 2024, when the U.S. regulatory environment for digital assets was characterized by crypto exchange failures, speculative tokens, and what Ondo described as "occasionally overbroad enforcement actions." At that time, Ondo had emerged as one of the few firms tokenizing publicly listed equities at scale and was experiencing growing adoption from global investors. "Being early and being successful came with scrutiny," the firm said.

With the probe now concluded, Ondo said it will continue to prioritize innovation, compliance, security, and investor protection.

Ondo's token is up around 5% on Monday following the news, according to The Block's ONDO price page.

The Block reached out to the SEC for comment.

Washington's tokenization shift

Ondo framed the outcome as part of a broader shift in Washington, where regulators are reassessing approaches to digital asset oversight and reversing or softening several of the prior administration's more aggressive actions.

Tokenization has also moved onto the SEC's formal agenda, with its Investor Advisory Committee evaluating how blockchain-based systems could modernize the issuance, trading, and settlement of public equities.

Ondo also pointed to accelerating market adoption as another sign of momentum, noting that tokenized U.S. Treasuries have become one of the fastest-growing onchain asset categories, and recently launched tokenized equities are showing similar traction.

The company plans to outline the next phase of its roadmap at the Ondo Summit in New York on Feb. 3, 2026, where regulators, policymakers, and traditional finance executives will discuss the firm's vision for what it calls a "new era of onchain finance."

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

By Nate Wolf

Strategy, the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, snatched up nearly $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency last week — a welcome sign for frustrated shareholders.

In a securities filing Monday, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy disclosed that it had bought 10,624 tokens from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 at an average purchase price of $90,615. The $962.7 million haul brings Strategy's total Bitcoin holdings to more than $60.6 billion.

Strategy stock was up 1.9% to $182.38 in premarket trading Monday.

The purchases mark a turnaround from the previous two weeks. Strategy added just 130 tokens in the period from Nov. 17 to Nov. 30, opting to sit on the sidelines amid a dramatic pullback in Bitcoin. The flagship cryptocurrency rose to $91,611 on Monday, but remains down 27% from its October all-time high above $126,000.

The filing Monday indicates Strategy and its executive chairman, Michael Saylor, are now buying the dip, which may be good news for the struggling stock.

As of Friday's close, Strategy shares have tumbled 61% from their July record high. Its so-called mNAV, the multiple the company trades at relative to its Bitcoin holdings, also has deteriorated.

But Strategy buying up Bitcoin signals the company is confident its purchases can expand that mNAV premium.

"MSTR's model is to acquire Bitcoin when it is accretive to do so, irrespective of Bitcoin's price," wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analysts Brett Knoblauch and Gareth Gacetta in a research note last week, before the filing Monday. The firm reiterated an Overweight rating but cut its price target to $229 from $560.

The purchases also indicate Strategy remains bullish about the direction of Bitcoin itself. As investors have learned this year — for better or worse — wherever Bitcoin goes, Strategy stock goes with it.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.